Across the Atlantic
by CaramelBay
Summary: After the death of her parents and disappearance of her brother, Emily Jones sets off to solve the mystery that's been destroying her family for almost ten years. With the help of the attractive but intolerable British detective, will she be able to solve the mystery before it's too late! Fem!AmericaxUK, GerIta, Spamano aly), Canadax? Human names used! Mild Violence


**Author's Note: Okay! Time for a brand new story! Actually it's because of this story that I've gotten no progress done on my others. I've literally written this story four different times but then gotten annoyed and decided to stop. I think I've found what I'm more or less happy with but we'll see. Hopefully after I get this out of my system I won't have writers block any more and can go back to regularly updating my others XD Don't worry though, this is definitely going to be a full length story and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Couples include: Fem!USxUK, GerIta, Spamano (Fem!Romano), Canadax?, and probably others but these will be the main couples. Yes there is genderbend in this story. Also the characters will go by their human names. For the countries who don't have actual names given to them (Australia, Wy, Philippines, ect) I just went with either the most popular fan name or the most popular baby name in the country XD I've tried to make it as obvious as I could who is who without interrupting the story. At the end of this chapter I'll explain who's who in more detail. I hope you enjoy! The story starts off in America's, or Emily Jones', point of view.**

**Oh and be warned, there will be minor character deaths.**

**I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.**

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When I was ten years old my parents were killed in a car accident. For the next two years my twin brother Matthew and I were bounced around from foster home to foster home until Christian, our older brother ten years our senior, was finally able to locate us and obtain custody of us. I remember that day extremely clearly, Matthew and I breaking free from the obnoxious social worker's grasp and falling into the awaiting arms of our brother. He mumbled apologies into our hair, tears threatening to fall, and he held onto us as we sobbed in his arms.

A few weeks later Christian had moved all of his belongings, plus a very pregnant wife, from Australia to our old home in Texas. After graduating high school, Chris had decided to move abroad to Australia where he had been living for the last four years. Now that he had basically adopted us, as minors we couldn't leave the US so he moved back here.

"Do you think it's weird?" I asked Matthew once. "That Chris wanted to live here of all places? And that we're going to be living here without Mama and Papa? And that we're gonna be the only kids-"

"Stop asking so many questions. And besides, we can't exactly move to Australia, the government wouldn't allow it or something like that." Matty attempted to explain as he unpacked boxes into his old room. I leaned on the door frame and hmmed.

"Well I still think it's weird." I told him, twirling a lock of blonde hair around my finger. He sat back on his heels and starred at me incredulously.

"Sis, you also think it's normal to eat hamburgers for every meal." Matthew pointed out. I grabbed a pillow of his bed and chucked it at his face. He jerk out of its way and picked the pillow up.

"Says the boy who dumps maple syrup on everything he eats!" I cried angrily, dodging the pillow he threw back. We were interrupted by the sounds of our older brother running nosily up the stairs. A frantic grin was stretch across his face, and he looked like he didn't know exactly what kind of expression to make. He also didn't notice the vice grip Matt and I had on each other's necks.

"Maria's gone into labor! We have to go to the hospital! Get in the car!" Chris shouted at the two of us. We release each other's throats and scampered to the door.

That evening, after running two red lights, spending hours in the waiting area outside the delivery room, finishing twelve crossword puzzles, and falling asleep in those extremely uncomfortable hospital chairs, we welcomed a little girl into our house and no longer was I the baby of the family. With the addition of Melanie into our lives, things started to become normal again.

Until the night of my sixteenth birthday.

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"EMMY!" The four year old Melanie squealed, holding up her palms that previous had been clean, were now covered in a thick layer of blue chalk. My niece and I had been 'creating a mural' (as she called it) in the driveway as we waited for the guests to arrive for Matt and I's sixteenth birthday. We had been in the middle of coloring an ocean, and it wasn't until now that I realized the previously clean little girl was now head to toe covered in blue chalk.

I sighed and plopped down on my butt. "Mel, you were supposed to color the driveway, not yourself!" I told her as I brushed my own chalk covered finger across her nose. It left a nice little streak of orange on her face. It was then she giggled and pointed on me.

"You're sitting in the ocean!" She laughed and I realized I had indeed sat in the middle of the blue blob Melanie called her ocean. I jumped up and hissed at my carelessness, my new white shorts now a bright blue. My reaction caused the girl to laugh even harder, her brown hair that had been swept up into a side ponytail bounced as her body shook. I rolled my eyes and picked up the toddler.

"Alright Missy, I think we both have to get cleaned up." I told her. I had seen cars start to pull up in front of our house and I really didn't want my friends to see me sporting a blue butt. I'd never live it down. Melanie nodded her head and a grin stretched across her face.

"Then we can draw more! Like Austria! Where Daddy lived!" She said excitedly.

"Australia, but good try." I corrected her. "And no more drawling. We have to stay pretty for the party. Besides, your Mommy will kill me if I let you ruin any more of you clothes." I told her, hoping Maria wouldn't see me carry the blue child into the house. I passed Matthew in the kitchen as he was talking to some of his nerd friends. He adjusted his glasses and let a small smile appear on his face. I winked at him cheekily and earned an eye roll from my twin.

I loved Matty, even if he was quiet most of the time and never ever tried to voice his opinion. Even if that jerk was three minutes older than me, and not only that, lately he had been going through a growth spurt and now towered over me by a good four or five inches. I pouted in the mirror that was at the base of the stairs. 5'5 wasn't short. It was cute. Melanie grabbed both my cheeks and brought my attention back to her.

"Bath time!" She cooed happily and I carried her upstairs and into the bathroom. I set her on the floor and the turned the faucet on. Once I was content with the temperature I deposited the happy four year old in the tub. I scrubbed her face until it was void of any blue. It wasn't until I turned around to grab some shampoo I noticed that Matthew had snuck in.

"Bath time with Aunty Em?" He asked as he walked over to the tub and squatted on the yellow rug next to me.

"Yup, but now it's gonna be bath time with Uncle Matty cause I gotta go change." I told him, handing him the shampoo bottle and standing up. "Make sure it doesn't get in her eyes. I really don't want Maria finding out about this."

Matthew tried to hold in a laugh, but he couldn't stop the huge grin from spreading over his face. "Sit on a smurf?"

I rolled my eyes at him, not like he could see though. My back was turned. "No, the Pacific Ocean." I closed the door as quiet laughter echoed from within. Dick.

I made my way down the narrow hallway and entered my little room and then froze. The curtains were blowing in the summer breeze. We were lucky to have a summer breeze. It was July and Texas was not known for being cool. But that's not what made me freeze. I gaped at the sight of my previously semi-messy, but not too messy, was now covered in red, white, and blue streamers. The floor was covered in matching confetti.

"Very funny!" I called out, knowing very well that both my brothers could hear me. When I was younger and found out that the fireworks on the fourth of July weren't actually because people were celebrating Matt and I's birth, but actually for Independence day, I threw I fit. I announced that I was the United States of America and that these fireworks WERE for me. Naturally, as older brothers do, they've never let me live it down. I heard a hearty laugh come from down stairs.

"Oh come on Ms. America, be a good sport!" Chris' voice called back, his Australian accent still thick from all the time he had spent living there. I gave an annoyed huff and trudged through the mess to my closet. After a few minutes of deliberation I decided to change into a pair of jean shorts that matched well with my flowy red tank top.

"Come in!" I called when I heard someone knocking on my door. Matthew walking in holding a clean and newly clothed Melanie. Said toddler immediately ran to my closet and grabbed one of my sweatshirts, a pink one she had decided was her favorite.

"T-minus thirty minutes till fireworks." Matt announced as Melanie plopped herself on my bed. She bounced up and down, looking out the window into the dark sky. Matthew stood with his hands in his jean pockets. He was wearing a red button down shirt that had been unbuttoned half way to reveal a white t-shirt. "Sixteen huh?" He said, his eyes trained on the floor.

I nodded happily. "Yeah! We can drive! I'm gonna drive to McDonalds every day after school!" I announced. Matthew sat down on my bed, a far away look in his eyes. He flicked a few pieces of confetti of my bed.

"Yeah, drive away from here." He said quietly and I strained my ears to hear him.

"You don't like it here?" I asked him, a little shocked. Never once had I heard Matt complain about living here. As far as I knew, he loved it just as much as I did!

Matthew shrugged. "I've just had a weird feeling lately. Well, I think I've always had a strange feeling but lately its gotten worse. I feel like there's something I need to do, somewhere I need to go." He said adding a hand gesture. I blinked at my blonde brother in surprise. Somehow he looked older. His glasses had created a glint so I had no clue what he was thinking.

"Well that's what college is for." I said simply, not really knowing what to say. "Have you started thinking about college? I mean, we only have two years left in high school!" I said desperately trying to change the subject.

"I've been looking at colleges abroad. There's this one in Canada that has really caught my eye. It has an amazing wildlife program that I'd love to learn more about." He told me and for the second time that night, my normally docile and extremely predictable brother shocked me into silence. And usually I'm the one who doesn't shut up.

"You mean…." I said, trying to blink away the tears that were starting to form. "We'll be separated?" Matt gave a low laugh and ruffled my shoulder length blonde hair.

"What, did you think we were going to be together forever?" He asked with a gently, playful smile and I huffed, annoyed.

"Well you've never mentioned about going abroad before. And I didn't think you were going to leave the country." I said crossing my arms. After that it was quiet until Melanie grabbed the two of us and hopped off the bed.

"Fireworks!" She cried up at us. Matthew shrugged.

"Well, we probably should head down stairs then. The parties been going on for almost

an hour and we've yet to make an appearance." Matt held out his hand to me. "We're both pretty awful hosts." He added. I laughed and took his hand. I was still upset and annoyed at him, but that didn't mean I wasn't ready to party!

When we got down stairs we saw Chris sitting on the old brown leather couch. He was facing the TV but it was turned off. He was just starring. Melanie struggled down from Matt's hold and ran to her father. She wrapped her chubby arms around his neck and sighed happily. I walked towards the door but stopped when Chris called my name, and Matt's too. We gave each other a 'Uh-oh, here comes the sappy big brother birthday speech' look and went over to our brother.

Chris stood up when we drew near, towering over the two of us. Over six feet tall, Chris was a monster of a man that Matt could only dream of becoming. I ground my teeth. It wasn't fair being so short.

"Happy birthday Matthew, Emily." He said seriously, his eyes misting slightly. "I'm so glad to be your old brother, sibs!" Chris gushed, tears threatening to fall. I shot Matt a look, a minute now and he'd probably lose it. Matty shook his head slightly and it went unnoticed by our oblivious brother who continued. "I remember when you were born. I was ten at the time. Emily, you would cry all the time. And Matt, you would-" He was cut off by the sound of loud banging filling our ears that came from the front yard.

"Fireworks?" Melanie said sleepily, rubbing her eyes with a pudgy fist. Christian froze, his eyes wide. The next thing I knew Chris had tackled Matthew and I to the ground, his arms covering our heads protectively. Melanie had buried herself into my chest and started shrieking, confused by the situation.

The banging got louder and continued on and I quickly figured out it was gunfire and screams filled the air, but then were immediately cut off. I vaguely heard Melanie screaming and Chris whisper meaningless words to her, trying to get her to shut up. Matt had grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight, terror splashed across his face. My face probably mirrored his. His glasses were askew. I remember thinking he should get contacts.

The rest of the night was a blur. Eventually the shooting stopped but Christian refused to let us get up. It wasn't till almost an hour later he finally allowed us up. He instructed us to go to our rooms and to grab our backpacks and to pack it with clothes and other necessities. I followed his instructions numbly, blindly trying to climb my way up the stairs. It wasn't until Matthew reached out and grabbed my shoulder to steady me was I was able to focus. I still didn't pack much. A few changes of clothes, money, a book. I groped my neck to make sure my mother's necklace was still there. I sighed with relief knowing it was still there. It was my greatest treasure; I wanted to make sure I had it.

"Let's go." Matt said quietly from the doorway, surprising me. We held hands as we walked through the house, neither of us saying a word. It wasn't until we reached the front door I realized the magnitude of the situation.

Dozens of bodies littered our front yard. People were lying in pools of blood. And the blood, it was everywhere. There were severed limbs in the front yards. People were crying out in agony, calling out names of friends and love ones. Matt sucked in a breath I felt him shake besides me.

"Don't look." I ordered him and he automatically squeezed his eyes shut. I guided him across our front yard, through the maze of bodies. I felt tears form in my eyes when I realized we had just stepped over our sister in-law's body. Shit. Where was Chris? I must have started shaking too or something cause Matt gently squeezed my hand.

Then I saw Christian standing by the car, his voice void of any emotion. It took everything I had not to break into a run, so that I could throw my arms around my big brother and cry. "C-Christian." I muttered, my voice thick with emotion.

"Get in the car." Chris ordered. The difference from now and how he had been an hour ago was huge. No more was the blubbering older brother who had practically been crying over us. This brother was stone cold. I guided Matt to the front seat and then all but fell into the back seat. Melanie was still wrapped in my pink sweatshirt besides me. Chris got into the driver's seat and started the car.

"What about all these people?" Matt whispered, his voice taking on a helpless tone as Christian pulled out of the driveway.

"Doesn't matter." Chris said curtly, his eyes focused on the road.

"But people are dying!" Matthew argued his kind heart not able to take it. My twin slumped against the black leather seats, his shoulders hunched together. Chris sped down the road, ignoring the speed limit signs. Chris' knuckles were white from clenching the wheel so hard.

"That's not my problem." Was the reply.

"So you're not going to do anything? Just let all those people die?" Matt said, his voice taunt.

"Damnit Matt!" Chris shouted, shocking all of us and earning a whimper from Melanie. I clutched the little girl to my chest. "My job is to protect you two. Not anyone else! You think this isn't hard for me?" He said, choking on the words. We were all quiet as the words sunk in. Melanie nuzzled her head to my neck and I cradled her small form, desperate for human contact.

"Where are we going?" I asked finally and Chris' eyes flickered from the road to his rear view mirror where they met mine.

"Pennyslvania." Chris said. "I have friends there, People Mom and Dad use to work with. We'll be staying with them until this is sorted out."

"Wait, Mom and Dad? But Mom was a stay at home mom and Dad was just an accountant." Matt pointed out, confused. Chris' jaw was set and his mouth formed a thin line.

"Yeah." Was all he said. Matt tried asking him a few more questions but they suddenly seemed distant and miles away. I rested my head on the window and my consciousness slipped away from me.

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A Year and a Half Later.

A cellphone, a laptop, and a list of names. That was all he left.

"Are you sure he's gone?" I asked again, kneeling in front of my six year old niece who was way too occupied with her new coloring book. She nodded her head, her brown hair bouncing in sync.

"Yes. Daddy said you would know what to do." She replied before picking up one of her new crayons and going back to her artwork. Blue. Wow. I groaned loudly and sat back on my heels. Matt clicked his tongue.

"This is so like him." He muttered, annoyed, and flipped open the laptop. I leaned back and tilted my head at him.

"To leave us? No it's not. Chris would never just leave. He wouldn't abandon his six year old daughter with his seventeen year old siblings. I mean, who does that?" I said, defending our older brother.

Matthew shook his head, his eyes glued to the screen. "No, not that, to be so damn mysterious. It's like the Texas incident." Oh, right. That. Matt slammed his hand on the glass coffee table. "This is useless! It needs a password!" I got up and rested my chin on his shoulder, looking at the computer.

"Try Melanie?" I offered, but when attempted got us now where. "Matthew? Emily? I dunno. Just keep trying." I offered as I picked up the cell phone. It was an early 2000's flip phone. It defiantly wasn't Chris' own personal phone. I did a quick search through the contacts. There were only four. "I seriously doubt this will be any help. And who uses flip phones anyways? It's like ten years out of style." I asked before collapsing on the sofa. I pulled my legs under me and watched as Matt fiddled with the computer some more.

After a few minutes Matty took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, exasperated. "Mel honey, your daddy must have told you something else, right?" The little girl looked up in thought, taping a purple crayon against her chin.

"Nope. Daddy just said he had to go away for a little while and Uncle Matt and Aunt Emily would know where to find him with that stuff!" Melanie repeated. Matt and I flashed each other a terrified look. Not only did we have to worry about school, but also taking care of a kindergartener and we tried to find her father.

I rolled off the couch and held up the phone for Matthew to see. "Imma make a few phone calls. You keep working on the computer." I told him. I grabbed a jacket and walked out into the cool March weather. I headed down a beaten path to our neighbors barn. Our neighbors owned a small farm with horses and cows and sheep and said if Matt and I were willing to help out a bit, we were free to use the horse if we wanted. Both me and my animal loving twin took them up on that offer. Lately, I had become especially smitten with a dapple gray quarter horse named Tony.

"Tony, what should I do?" I asked the horse who just grunted in response. I ran my fingers through his mane as he nudged open my pockets, looking for a treat. "Sorry babe, I don't have anything for you today." I told him and he turned his back on me. I could almost imagine him cursing me out in his head.

I pulled the phone out of my other pocket and starred at it before deciding to dial the first number. "Well here goes nothing." I muttered as the dial tone appeared. I waited until a thickly accented voice picked up the phone. "Hello, London Police Department. How may I help you?" My eyes widened and I dropped the phone like it had bit me. Tony lazily looked over his shoulder but gave no reaction other than that.

Why would Chris leave behind a phone that connected me to a British police department? I heard a voice say 'hello?' A few times before I picked up the phone and flipped it shut. A million thoughts raced through my head, the first being I hoped they wouldn't call back. But had Chris somehow gotten in trouble with the English government? Had he eloped with a police officer?

I decided to shake THAT thought from my head, no way would that happen. I shook a piece of loose straw from the phone and opened it again. Maybe I'd have more luck with the next number.

I held my breath until someone picked up. "Alright, I don't know who you are or how you got my private number but don't you dare hang up until you tell me who you are." I listened to the same voice order and listened in horrified shock.

"W-Who are you?" I asked him, hoping my voice didn't sound as weak and girl to him as it did to me. I clutched the fence post.

The man gave a short, annoyed laugh. "Oh no. I'm the one who should be asking that. Why would an America girl be calling a British police department? And how did you did you find my cell phone number?" He asked, annoyance laced in his voice. I winced thinking about who would have to pay for this international phone call.

"Actually I was hoping you would be able to tell me." I said and I felt his side of the line go quiet.

"Well then." He said finally. "My name is detective Arthur Kirkland. How may I be of assistance?"

I sighed in relief. "I'm Emily Jones. And I think you can help me find my brother."

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**Author's note:**  
**Okay done! So like I said at the beginning, some of the nations don't have names so I just basically went with what the Hetalia Wiki said, and if there wasn't anything listed I just googled most popular baby names for the given country. So to clarify:**  
**America- Emily Jones**

**Canada- Matthew (Jones/Williams, he'll probably be Jones unless it bothers people too m uch)**

**Australia- Christian Jones**

**Wy- Melanie Jones**

**Philippines- Maria (Sorry if that confused you, It was like the only girl country I could find that was near Australia…. Sorry for killing her off, don't hate me!)**

**England- Arthur Kirkland.**

**I think that's all the characters for this chapter! I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you think! This was basically just a prologue so sorry if the characters were acting OOC.**

**OH! And you should tell me who you think Canada should end up with. I'm thinking France, Prussia, or Ukraine. Tell me what you think! Ill leave that up for you to decide!**


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